Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200/TZ200 Review

The Panasonic ZS200 (known as the TZ200 outside of North America) is a compact travel zoom camera with a 24-360mm equiv. lens and a 20MP, 1" sensor that's larger than what you'd find on a typical long-zoom camera. In addition to capturing 20MP stills, it can also record decent quality UHD 4K video. In general we like what the ZS200 has to offer in terms of spec and performance, though lenses in this class of cameras are often on the soft side. While the ZS200 has the longest zoom of any nearly pocketable enthusiast compact, most people will be better served by the less expensive ZS100, if they don't mind less zoom range.

To put it simply the ZS200 seems to take the excellent pedigree of the ZS100 (one of our picks for best travel camera), makes some slight improvements and adds a longer, slightly slower lens. Combined, these two cameras fill a gap in the 1" -type compact camera market, providing significant telephoto reach beyond that of other pocket friendly models, such as the Sony RX100 series, without being bulky like Panasonic's FZ1000 and FZ2500.

The ZS200 is now available for $799, while the TZ200 (its non-US name) is £729 and €799 in the UK and Europe, respectively. The color choices are black and an attractive gunmetal/silver.

What's new and how it compares

Here are the differences between the ZS200 and its predecessor - the ZS100 - plus how it compares to existing models from other companies.

Comments

The LX200 should also have a built in flash and ND filter and perhaps expand the zoom range to 100mm. Panasonic also needs to address the issue quite a few people encountered concerning dust in the sensor.

If I were a Panasonic decision maker, I'd stop this zoom race madness on this type of camera and concentrate on improvements.- I'd fix the lens range at 24-300mm, but f/2.8I'd then make this lens the standard lens on future iterations (ZS300, 400, 500, etc.) with continuous improvement until it's the sharpest lens in its class.- Continue improving the "Cons" in the Conclusion section.- 300mm in this type of camera should be sufficient.- Kick Leica in the rear for lens variation, improve their QC, and stop them from getting their optics engineers drunk during work hours!

The FZ2000 is f/4 at 300mm, weights two pounds, and has 67mm filter thread. A lens that's a full stop faster, will need to be wider (up to 67x1.44=96mm). That will be hard to fit even into FZ2000-sized body. A TZ200 is a third of the weight and a fifths of the volume.

If you were panasonic decision maker you would have access to a good market research and sales information instead of only dpreview review with few comments. You can also estimate your expertise in decision making by checking your current position - do you make any business decisions at all, let alone decisions worth milions or tens of milions?

I don’t know if the kicks are better applied to the Panasonic or to the Leica engineers, but obviously someone should receive some for shure. What is the Leica brand worth if nobody has to take responsibility? That’s what I can expect as a customer.

Not really a surprise and already mentioned by DPR in earlier reviews. It's a problem with all these 1 inch sensor models with complicated retracting lenses from all brands. This is what they wrote about their findings (from the TZ100 review):"Lens Performance

If there's one thing we've seen in the 1"-type camera market, it's that lens quality has been hit-or-miss. The DMC-FZ1000 has a really nice lens, while the Canon G5 X and G7 X's lenses are disappointing. We've had a lot of sample variation with the Sony RX100 III and IV, but when you get a good sample, the lens is great."

I would never expect the noise to be identical, but I don't much additional noise. Of course you are missing the part where they said "...with a minimal noise penalty". This jives with what I see, you get the greater dynamic range of the 400 shot without much additional noise compared to the 1600 shot.

I used to own the ZS100, and it was just too soft and too slow.Images looked noisy, flat, and soft.The ZS200 is just gonna worse, because they've made it longer and slower.What Panasonic should have done, is waited and negotiated with Sony to get access to their 1" sensor with PDAF, and designed a faster lens with a shorter more useful travel focal length like 24-120mm f1.8-f2.8, then they would have my money.These companies clearly need to perform a needs analysis of their prospective customer base before designing their products. That's what's missing here.Den

By your question, are you suggesting they carried out market research, and determined from that research, that the prospective market wanted an updated ZS100 with a slower lens but with an extra 100mm at the long end???Ridiculous 😏Den

And yet they made the camera, so that is probably exactly what market research told them.I realize it may be hard for you to comprehend, but your desires don't match everyone's.Those going on Safari style / outdoor travel will take all the zoom they can get and already have more light than they need outside in the day.

DenImage,whether most users shoot 24-120 or 120-360 mm is not important because 24-360 INCLUDES the 24-120 range. As for apertures, I was referring to your statement specifically on the usefulness of a focal length.

"Crosses F10" is an exaggeration, based upon real-world tests with this and other 1" sensor cameras:"The effects of diffraction due to the small equivalent apertures (which crosses F10 equiv. at 35mm) just amplifies the softness."

To achieve this huge range, they use many multi-surface, specialty lens elements, and these probably have some POLYMER surfaces — unlike the stellar LX100 lens that uses ONLY GLASS elements. This is bound to make a significant difference in contrast and sharpness, but isn't mentioned in reviews.

Why is the Sony's RX10 IV so sharp in comparison, and has an even larger range? Perhaps they used more glass and less polymer.

Even Canon's G3 X, which is much smaller than the gigantic RX10 (though still far larger than this one) looks noticeably better while having a larger range. I can't believe I just complimented the G3 X, with which I was thoroughly disappointed, but there ya go.

arbux, I should add that I carried daily a LX5 for two years and a LX100 for three. I now have the ZS200, which has this wonderful zoom range, but is disappointingly soft. I also miss the multi-aspect sensor, which really should be in *all* mirrorless cameras, since the limiting SLR 3:2 mirror box is gone, and much of what the lens sees (the image circle) is wasted. Sony has really dropped the ball on multi-aspect, building the best sensors, but only in the standard 3:2 ratio.

Whether you look at the mk i, ii, iii, the rx10s are massively larger and heavier than the Panasonic, with the same sensor size. The Sony is known to have a very good and far less compromised lens. The Panasonic is full of compromises to make it small. These are as far apart as two 1" sensor models can get in terms of lens design.

rpm40, the Panasonic FZ1000 also has a massively larger lens, a similar zoom range, and a 1" sensor. And the image quality is no better than the ZS200 according to this test — perhaps because it also uses polymer instead of all-glass: "TZ200 vs FZ1000 sample pictures comparison at 360mm and f6.3" https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4285531

Well the much larger Fz1000 has a maximum aperture of F4.And with these relatively small sensors that does make a significant impact because despite being rather excellent ISO's still need to be kept at reasonable levels.

needs a 360mm equivalent telephoto lens, especially typical point-n-shoot photographers. Frequently, they are taking photo's of very distant landscape objects because they are either too lazy to get closer for a clear shot, or are stuck in the motor coach. The atmospheric conditions almost always preclude a good photo in those situations.

Right. Because one can always walk up the side of a building to get closer to an architectural detail or get within 1 meter of a crocodile to take a picture of its face. I guess using longer focal lengths to increase subject isolation is out of the question as well.

The reviewer called the 4K video „noisier“ compared to the Sony competitors. Yes it is, but the reason for this is not just the lack of oversampling. Have a look at contrast edges. Sharpening artifacts all over the place! Wayyy too much sharpening! That’s what makes the noise so apparent in the ZS200‘s 4K video. And it makes those videos look very unnatural. Panasonic should fix this soon.

I have the Panasonic DMC FZ 1000: Fantastic camera, Fantastic Focus system: I never used my DSLRs again after getting it. But I stopped using it! Why? Well, seems like the Compact Camera producers are not keeping up with inventions:

See P1010345 in my album

I'm funny : I like to know where my pictures are taken (without Fuzz):a) My Samsung S7 phone records this for every pictureb) It takes good enough Pictures for most situationsc) It has an Innovative Feature called Motion Pictures that records 2 sec video

I use c) together with PhotoStory to create Videos of Stills where Pure stills are zoomed and panned a bit, and where the Motion Pictures shows the short 2 sec Video then the Zoomed and Panned Still.

And Compact Camera Manufacturers wonder why their sales are stagnating?

IMHO they have fallen behind in the Innovation Department. so much so, that People. like me, that loves Picture Quality, are willing to accept to trade poorer IQ to Innovative Features!

.....it is clear evidence of better quality control in lens creation for complex zooms one sees in zoom enthusiast compacts ... it is also a superior lens period showing Fuji prowess in zoom design and building .................. and....[ your turn!]

The X30 is physically larger, with a much shorter range and a much smaller sensor. It's clearly a significantly less ambitious optical design, so it's no surprise that the quality within that narrow design objective is better.

esmu, you care enough to let me know you dont care.... and that is more than enough. much much more . anyway you miss the point i was making about consistency in sample variation in fuji compacts. high quality\ same quality over 3 ownership experiences.

androole, true ,but the entire camera is built to a higher standard, the sheer robustness of zoom, a helicoid built better than many slr lenses and its sure manual action are a joy .making plastic power zooms are a letdown ,. the sensor , at 58 sqmm is exactly 1\2 the size of the "1" inch sensor[116 sqmm] by way of comparison apsc sensors are much less than full frame , which they compare favorably with at normal isos or m43 sensors at about a quarter of full frame , but have great image quality

A 2\3 sensor produces beautiful files & decent sensor size wells considering the class of camera to which it belongs at 20 mp on a 116sqmm sensor ,this class of 1 inch camera has a small noise advantage to the x30

I guess I just don't understand why you believe that the performance of a 4x 28-112mm lens on a 2/3" sensor is relevant to the performance of a 15x 24-360mm lens on a 1" sensor.

Why not compare it the Panasonic LX15 or the LX100, both of which have much, much better lenses than the ZS200, and have larger sensors AND faster lenses than the X30, despite being the same size or even smaller physically?

Jeff Keller, thanks for this very interesting review (the new layout is great too!) Could you please chime in on the issue of the lens possibly having some polymer surfaces that some on these forums say explain the softness?

You are right, putting the name Leica on this lens is a cruel, cruel joke. I don't think that it does any service to Leica or Panasonic. I mean, we know that these lenses are not designed nor manufactured by Leica, but maybe Panasonic could use the name license to genuinely mark products they want to sell based on the strengths of the lens?

To achieve this huge range, they use many multi-surface lens elements, and these probably use some POLYMER lenses — unlike the stellar LX100 lens that uses ONLY GLASS elements. This is bound to make a significant difference in contrast and sharpness, but isn't mentioned.

Why is the Sony's RX10 IV so sharp in comparison, and has an even larger range? Perhaps they used more glass and less polymer.

While the real world images here look quite decent, the studio scene comparison tells a different story. You may enjoy better JPEG colors now, but when it comes to resolution the predecessor wins: Compare king of hearts in the upper part of the studio scene!

I have ZS100 and gladly I bought used. At low ISO 125/200, the noise of daytime is right there and picture is not clear comparable to my FZ1000 (actually even slightly worse than my ZS40 @ a sunny day!). Looked through this review the image quality did not improve either (same sensor, more issues possible with longer zoom?), I guess we'll have to wait or I will just use my Sony RX100, lens is short but IQ is better. - No perfect "travel" camera.

Because it's still one of the only compact cameras with such an incredible zoom range, and seems to get many other things just right enough. (But yeah, it seems a little high to me, too... I guess many of the tradeoffs are expected.)

The good thing, their reviews go into detail which tells you what you really need to know about the camera.Me after seeing headline - wow, compact zoom up to 360 mm wow I want.Me after reading the review - ugh, no thanks.

Even today's "poor" image quality is amazing. The reality is that sensors have gotten so advanced the we have to judge them by zooming in 100%. And the #1 way that photographs are displayed now is 1080px by 1080px on a 4"-5" screen.

The cons seem have no influence on the final score. When the list of cons is greater than the list of pros as is the case with many Sony cameras and they still get glowing endorsements something is not right.

No not all cameras are great or even close, giving a camera 60-70% is realistic. I suspect dpreview would give the god awful Corolla a 90% score if they reviewed cars.

I suppose that whatever the likes and dislikes of individual consumers, all cameras have both shortcoming and redeemable features, and it is the reviewer's job to find and mention those. Failing one or the other is what displays a bias on the part of the reviewer.

Based on my past experience, bad copies returned by buyers may not go back to Panasonic to be fixed. It seems some of them are put back on the shelf to be sold again.Last year when I bought my second ZS100 from another large/reputable vendor, I received a used camera (it was advertised as new and I paid for it as new camera). Most likely, it was one of bad quality cameras returned but put back in circulation. Thus, to find a good one it may take several attempts.

It seems to be a weak point of many if not most 1 inch sensor cameras with complicated small retractable lenses. The following text is from the earlier DPR review of the TZ100 model:"If there's one thing we've seen in the 1"-type camera market, it's that lens quality has been hit-or-miss. The DMC-FZ1000 has a really nice lens, while the Canon G5 X and G7 X's lenses are disappointing. We've had a lot of sample variation with the Sony RX100 III and IV, but when you get a good sample, the lens is great."

Thanks to: Jeff Keller & Dan Bracaglia for their well informed and valuable report on this camera. Although I'm kind of disappointed on some of the images IQ. I was expecting more definition and less fuzzy results. Which has NOTHING to do with the well intention from the testers. I was planning to buy this camera for my wife and her trip to China. I'll keep on looking for future tests.Keep up your excellent work, gentlemen.

Horrible horrible lens. I'd love to own a Panasonic compact like this - so many great features. But they keep pairing these cameras with a dreadful lens. I'm not asking for miracles, just don't want a smeary mess anywhere but dead centre.

Thanks Jeff for sharing this information. I was thinking about replacing my Sony A77 with this camera, but the seeing this QC roulette I don't consider it to be a an appealing option any more. I'll stick with what I have.

I read the FZ2000 review and it said the same thing about the zoom lens quality. I know cost is a consideration, but to me I'd pay that extra 20% (or whatever) to get better (sharper, not necessarily faster) lens performance.

The early days of the old IBM PC saw an 'open system' to which programmers and hardware manufactures, many of them individuals with a high degree of inventiveness, could contribute. Now we have major PC vendors and closed systems.

The auto world has, sometimes, allowed 3rd party add-ons and does a lot of cross licensing.

I wonder what the camera wold would be like if vendors opened up their software and published hardware interface specs. Some of those features could be used elsewhere; the lens system could be replaced; the sampling/sharpening software could be hacked for a better -- or at least 'different' -- performance.

I'm really not happy with the slow lens, but I suppose it cannot be avoided at this high zoom range. This actually makes the ZS100 look like a better buy, and an LX10 or LX100 look like a much better choice for anyone who plans to use their camera indoors or at night.

But you really need to give Panasonic a lot of credit here. They created the Travel Zoom niche with their TZ1 back in 2006, and they still keep offering us improved versions of the concept.

Only if you never go any higher than ISO 100 and never shoot in poor light. In that case, my 1/1.7" sensored camera is "just as good."

But these newer 1" sensored cameras can perform pretty well up to around ISO 800 and can do pretty well in dim light. The bigger sensor really does make a difference, but only if you shoot in less than ideal conditions.

I have been looking seriously at new 1" sensor cameras but when I compare image quality to my several year old canon G15 the increase in image quality is not enough for me to spend several hundred dollars and abandon my G15 yet. I shoot dslr's mostly and use the G15 as a pocketable carry around camera. And no I don't use it at high iso's so that is not an issue for me.

I can't believe someone would say they like this camera. I bot one and shot with it for approx 2 months and it let me down in 90% of the situations I shot with. Very fuzzy, grainy pictures. 4K Burst is a bust. All photos are either blurry, fuzzy or grainy at any setting including its own intelligent auto. Please don't waste time with this and definitely not money. I literally threw mine in the garbage cause I didn't want to be tempted to use it again and be let down again.

But but but... DPR says it's a good camera overall and gets an 81% score!

I'd be furious if I was an unknowning consumer with a limited budget and bought this camera due to DPR giving it a good score. Hopefully potential buyers will click on the comments and see posts like yours before they spend their hard earned money.

True but either turning off/on again, and/or gently tapping the camera or gently coaxing the cover open with a finger solves the problem. And you can get a cool "letterbox" effect by shooting with the cover partly open. \;>D

I've seen at least 6 power-zoom cameras and cameras with lenses that electrically come of the body that have failed because of jams. There is advice out there on how to deal with it, sometimes it works.

I have a Sony RX100 purchased back in 2015, and it has performed very well, despite its 2012 release. It is only recent that other brands are using the 1" sensor in their compacts, but this one (DC-TZ200), with a relatively long battery charge life, and extended optical zoom options seems to be the one to replace the RX100, or perhaps complement the choice of camera. It is reassuring that each brand uses a lens from the iconic Zeiss and Leica names respectively.

What it did right is the upgraded EVF and Bluetooth connectivity. A longer lens with smaller aperture is no a upgrade. In fact, Sony RX100 V2 to V3 was going the other way round. Other than that, it has nearly no improvement.

But to be honest even the old model is so much better than RX100 V3 or Canoon G7 ii for people that needed IQ and zoom in a small body.

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